Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Serbia team for the ATP Cup in Sydney, event organisers said on Wednesday, raising further doubts over whether the world number one will defend his Australian Open title next month.
Novak Djokovic was confused about who had issued him with a medical exemption to enter Australia when interviewed by the Australian Border Force last week, according to transcripts of the interview.
Tennis Australia (TA) planned for players and their entourages to arrive in Victoria in mid-December to have time to undertake a mandatory two-week quarantine period before competing in January.
Nine-times champion Novak Djokovic says there are "positive signs" that his three-year ban on entering Australia will be waived so he can play at the next Australian Open in January.
Federer is tied with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the race to be the most successful men's singles Grand Slam champion of all time and Australian Open organisers would have been hoping to have all three at Melbourne Park.
Twelve months on and things have not got any easier for Tennis Australia with Omicron spreading through the country just as the first players are set to arrive for warm-up events ahead of the Melbourne Park tournament.
Officials said he was one of a 'handful' of successful applicants among 26 people who sought exemptions.
Djokovic announced on Tuesday he received an exemption to play in the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne and said he was heading to Australia.
Australian authorities scrambled on Sunday to file a legal defence of their decision to bar entry to tennis world number one Novak Djokovic over his COVID-19 vaccination status, as the Serbian superstar spent his fourth day in immigration detention.
World number one Novak Djokovic was released from Australian immigration detention on Monday after winning a court challenge to revive his bid to win a record 21st Grand Slam title at the upcoming Australian Open.
World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic was denied entry into Australia on Thursday amid a storm of protest about a decision to grant him a medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination requirements to play in the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic said he would do whatever was required to play at the Australian Open but hoped the government could also be accommodating.
Novak Djokovic has so far declined to disclose whether he is vaccinated and his father told Serbia's TV Prva that governing body Tennis Australia's stance on players being vaccinated was tantamount to "blackmail".
Tennis Australia Chief Executive Craig Tiley confirmed in an email to players that authorities had agreed to allow players to train during two weeks of strict quarantine.
Tennis World No. 1 Novak Djokovic spent Orthodox Christmas in Australian immigration detention on Friday as his lawyers fought a government decision to remove him from the country that could scupper his shot at a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam.
Kyrgios added that he had been in communication with Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley and United Cup tournament director Stephen Farrow about his injury.
Australian Open champion Rafa Nadal said he would love to finish his career with more Grand Slam titles than rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic but thinks he will have to secure more than 21 to do so.
Daniil Medvedev was fined for an outburst against the umpire
The 2011 US Open champion could not wait to join her friend for the 'Barty Party'.
Organisers of this year's US and French Opens established bio-secure 'bubbles' for players, who were not allowed to leave their hotel rooms except to train and play.
Melbourne on Friday completed 28 days since the last reported locally-acquired case of novel coronavirus infection.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are among a number of players who will feature in an exhibition match ahead of this month's Australian Open to raise funds for bushfire relief efforts, organisers announced on Wednesday. All funds raised from the two-and-a-half hour event on January 15 at Rod Laver Arena -- called AO Rally for Relief -- will be donated to the relief cause with tickets priced at A$54 ($37.09).
Next year's Australian Open could be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and even if the first Grand Slam of 2021 goes ahead fans from abroad will not be able to attend, Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley said on Wednesday. The tennis season was halted in early March due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 3.68 million people around the world while killing over 256,000 so far.
While Djokovic has challenged his visa cancellation, Voracova, a 38-year-old doubles specialist, decided to leave, telling Czech news site idnes.cz she would not challenge because of the time it would take to wait and not train ahead of the Australian Open later this month.
More than 70 players and their entourage are confined to their hotel rooms for 14 days and unable to train for the Feb. 8-21 Australian Open after passengers on three charter flights returned positive tests.
John McEnroe mocked Margaret Court as the 'crazy aunt' of tennis. She has attracted heavy criticism for voicing her religious-based opposition to same-sex marriage.
Images from Day 2 of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Novak Djokovic has declined to disclose his vaccination status despite everyone at Melbourne Park needing to be inoculated against COVID-19.
Australian Nick Kyrgios has put his hand up to help the victims of raging bushfires in his country by promising a $200 donation for every ace he serves during the home summer season. More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed by the fires fuelled by searing temperatures and high winds, with Kyrgios' hometown of Canberra experiencing its worst air quality and residents have been told to stay indoors.
The start of the Australian Open is set to be pushed back from January to February or March next year due to COVID-19 protocols in the country.
Australia's Nick Kyrgios said he supported vaccination "but how we are handling Novak's situation is bad, really bad". The Australian Open begins on January 17, but the multi-millionaire Djokovic is constrained from training as he sits in a hotel where one Iranian detainee said he had found maggots and mould in the bread.
The Australian Conservation Foundation's Climate Change Program Manager Gavan McFadzean also said athletes need to step up.
Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, reintroduced the compulsory wearing of masks in indoor public places from Thursday while private gatherings were reduced from 30 people to 15.
Novak Djokovic will spend at least the next 72 hours in a Melbourne hotel before the next hearing in his fight to overturn a ban on entering Australia is held on Monday.
Victoria is undergoing a second lockdown and has nearly 8,000 active COVID-19 cases, while NSW has about 800.
The reaction has been swift across the world to Novak Djokovic's visa has been cancelled for a second time by the Australian government.
Novak Djokovic, who has won a record nine titles at Melbourne Park including the last three, has repeatedly declined to reveal whether he has been vaccinated against COVID-19, with Australian Open organisers Tennis Australia confirming that all players would have to be vaccinated to compete in Melbourne.
Sloane Stephens, Kim Clijsters, Hyeon Chung among others were made acquainted with snakes and crocs of a varied variety, and kissed and cuddled Koala bears on Wednesday.
'You might just have to leave (for Australia) a few weeks earlier than everyone else. That's the player's choice. If the local government puts that in place then I would support that. It would be great if more players got vaccinated.'
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is weighing exercising his discretionary powers to revoke Djokovic's visa
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